DIRECTIONS:1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan.2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and oil. Beatin the eggs until light, then stir in the honey and vanilla.Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,cinnamon and allspice; stir into the batter just untilmoistened. Fold in the apples and nuts.3. Bake for 50 to 65 minutes in the preheated oven, oruntil a toothpick inserted into the crown comes out clean.Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a plateand tapping out of the pan.

Monday, September 29, 2008

On Friday, I got a piece of cat fur up my bum (same as a wild hair) & so I sat down to sew. YES I did! I was going to try out my new foot - the one that has been in the package for EVER! I think the quilt shop sold me a foot for a serger... GRUMBLE. I moved onto plan two & just added borders instead of gathering them first - for "fluffy" borders. (Yellow quilt on my list!)

I then sewed down the binding on the minky blanket. Check that off of the list!

Still in the mood, I pulled all of my train novelties & some other stuff to make it big enough & made the backing for the RR X-ing quilt - I can check that off of my list of things to do before Thanksgiving!

Saturday we trekked down to Virginia (If you live in this area you are aware that you need you passport to cross the American Legion Bridge...) to get some Rx from the vet & to do some grocery shopping.

The vet gave us a free sample of kitty candy that is o.k. with my little man's Rx diet. (If he was strict about that diet, this would be more of a big deal... he is not, he will clean Rhapsody's bowl in a heart beat & then come sauntering around washing his face - so that we know that he ate the wet cat food leftovers... & if we walk by the cat room while he is sneaking her food - he will run away - he knows that he is being bad!)

We really like the grocery store in Virginia that is near the vet's office... That may be weird, but there you have it. 4 hours later we went home.

Nothing crafty went on, I cooked the fish - so that we could have Nicoise salad for dinner & easily portioned pieces of protein for the diet. (Those fish mongers were not happy to hear, "I want 3 oz. pieces.") I also boiled a heck of a lot of eggs.

On Sunday, I hibernated some more after running a few errands & picking up my husband at the metro. After dinner, I brought some hand work to bed. :o) There I finished quilting on the RR quilt & on the doll quilt swap quilt (Both of which are on my list!)

Not too bad overall.

Another look at my list - for me to help keeop me on track & to remind me what I still need ot work on - as if those Faux log cabin pieces weren't quite obvious on my chair...

Tiny type mean that I am 100% done - & that I do not know how to strike through the text.

1. ALQS2 - no photo, so it can remain a suprise. I need to audition borders, baste, quilt, & bind it. Now I just need bind it.2. RR (x 3 or 4) I am not sure how many more rounds we have, but I am doing the quilting on the current one.I am about 90% done with the quilting. Done with the quilting round.3. RR X-ing quilt - I want to piece the top & the back & ship it off to a long armer.I have pieced the top. (I thought I would have pieced the back this past weekend - never got close to that idea...)4. Faux Log Cabin - this one should have a higher priority... I need to finish piecing the blocks & piece the top. (I would like to have those two steps done by Halloween.)I have been piecing on this - something that I probably would not have done if it was not on my list. (THANKS FINN for the impetus.) I still need to finish piecing the blocks...5. Hand Quilting the blue & yellow log cabinProbably 80% done on this - since I need to mail my other quilting, I set this aside.6. Piece the yellow bird quilt...I am almost ready to tryout my new foot... (new plan - top done, needs to be pressed, sandwiched, & quilted...)7. Bind the green minkyI probably should redo this, but I will probably trudge through instead...8. Bind the baby quilt after it gets quilted by the long armer... (Instead of adding it to the pile of quilts that need the binding finished.)At leat 75% done with this one!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Why this one bothers me more than most, I can't say. Maybe it is the way that he shunned Hollywood - stayed "normal." Maybe it was all of his liberal causes. Maybe it was his spaghetti Sauces that I like more than 90% of the homemade sauces that I have tried - in Italy as well as abroad. I'm not really sure... But I know that he will be missed.

Legendary actor Paul Newman dies at age 83(I removed the link - it was too long & messed up the page...)

So if you have a small portable project & a job with a lunch hour - give it a try. Quilting really is therapy.

Wonder if I can parlay my new found enthusiasm into a fabric shopping trip? (Too bad there isn't really anything that I "need." & I am not really in the mood to shop... BUT I do have a catlog with a few things circled...)

Not sure why or how, but yesterday by the time I was leaving work, all I wanted to do was to crawl in bed - maybe I can blame the rain? Today is no different... Last night was a taxing childbirth class - it focused on the exact opposite of my birth plan & yet it resonated in a "I must be prepared for that to be the outcome." way as well... (Healthy Baby, Healthy Baby, Healthy Baby)

Since that is my new mantra, that is how I am surviving the new diet. Day two & those are my feelings - this is going to be a long haul...

Back to the quilt, I chose it because it is one of the most popular on flickr. It is pretty close to 2 years old & it is the quilt that I am currently using on my bed. (That was coincidence - I was making my choice based upon flickr popularity.) This is the kind of quilt that i really enjoy making - use every purple (insert color) and go for it! Some low contrast, some high contrast, some dark, some light, some "does that go?" With the purple color - some reddish purple, some blueish purple!

Since i had already made this quilt, I had no problem culling purples from my stash - I still have some, but not near as much. (I like all colors.)

Bonnie was chatting about borders for the last couple of posts (sorry no links - blogging from flickr) This is my go to border (Besides using a novelty print) is is usually called piano key. I used the same fabric for the narrow inner and the outer border - to "hold in" the piano keys - & to make it easier for the long armer... :o)

Does any one else do monochromatic quilts?FYI Violet Crumble is a candy bar from "Down Under" that is not on my diet even if I could get one... (I prefer the Mint Areo bars anyway...)

Please tell me that it is 3, so I can go home & hibernate all weekend long...

Thursday, September 25, 2008

We all experience changes in our lives. We have to reign in the budget because the gas prices are on the rise, we move with jobs, we grow old, we get sick, etc.

With all of that for an introduction:"Hello, my name is Amy & I am a cat-a-holic."Oh wait a minute - we are talking about change..."Hello, My name is Amy & I am an egg-a-holic."

My new diet is going to be chock full of egg whites (I am not a yolk fan). FYI 2 egg whites are a single protein serving & I need 10 servings a day (20 egg whites a day)... (Theoretically, I could be doing an ounce of chicken, turkey, or fish or 1/4 cup of non-fat cottage cheese & a few other options - but I think the hard boiled egg whites will be easiest for me...)The starches are intersting too... Did you know that a 1/2 of an English Muffin is 1 serving. I ahve been having two servings of those since the begining of time...While the idea of at 5 a.m. eat 1.5 cups on unsweetened dry cereal with 1 cup of skim milk & 1/4 cup of egg beaters every morning sounds rather boring - I would rather have a menu like that instead of all of the options...1/2 english muffin & 1 oz. low fat cheese at 7:30 - YEE HAW! (That should be cookie time...)

Last night I finished (I hope/think) the "part A" sewing on the faux log cabin. Now I can work on piecing a back without guilt.

OB Appt went well. I am borderline diabetic. So today I am going to a nutritionist to get my diet in shape... (Low carb, but not extreme like Adkins or South Beach.) As of today, I am officially at the 30 week mark. Yes, I am experienceing "fake contractions." I hope to avoid the leakage until they are at least in use...

I have my next 5 OB Appts. lined up, so that I will see each of the Doctor's in the practice & avoid the whole "Who are you?" scenario in the delivery room. Oh yeah, I am up to every two weeks for my appointments...

At 32 weeks we are going to get another sneak peak of the baby. I still do not want to know the gender, but I want to see what they see when they can tell the gender so I can guess... Ever since the 20 week when my husband got cryptic information, I have thought about wanting to know... Still this will probably be my only parlay into Motherhood & I want to be suprised... After all of that work in labor & delivery - I deserve a suprise & I don't just mean one of those Shoes! (Big hint for the husband that lurks on the blog...)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Turkey Cookies (new to me blog) sponsored a soup recipe swap. I am joining in albeit a bit late... (The link links you to the Mr. Linky post.)

Roast 3-4 bulbs of garlic. (Trim the tops off fo the garlic drizzle the cut ends with olive oil wrap the whole bunch in foil bake 450 for 30-40 minutes.)Start a pot of stock - any kind, vegeterian & chicken work well. Homemade or boxed work well (I have not tried beef or canned)Add the roasted garlic by squeezing it out of the papery shells - after it has cooled a bit.Stir, add seasoning to suit your taste - I always add freshly cracked black pepper.Once the soup is hot & the flavors have blended nicely, add the spinach (I use enough for the number of servings I need - about 1 handful per person) stir until wilted, serve immediately.

I find that this is fine for leftovers if the spinach is not left in the soup - hence the "use enough for the number of servings" note.

A little grating of parmesan cheese is nice (not the pre-grated stuff though...)

On the Mom blog, Katie Couric posts... Interview. One of the statements in the blog is:

While 67% of women agree with her that creationism should be taught alongsideevolution in schools

Is that true?

Especially when the US is ranted 29th in the world in Science? Especially when we need a good science base to be able to learn new ways to use renewable energy sources? To find cures for Alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis, Leukemia, etc. To be able to handle our trash/recycling better?ETC.!

I know that there are a lot of Jews who believe/live/teach that what is said in the Torah is "it." Not open for discussion, but they are teaching their kids in religious schools, where they can control the education. They are not advocating (that I know about) that this is taught in public schools.

Isn't creationism a religious belief? Don't we have the protection of "Separation of Church & State?"

I know that what my Catholic friends believe is different that what my 7th Day Adventist, Quaker, Methodist friends believe... When we start allowing creationism to be taught in public schools, whose version are we going to use? (Caveat, what my friends believe may not be representational of their religions tennents.)

Isn't this why churches have schools? That is at least part of the reason why Synogogues have schools (they also want Kosher meals/snacks, etc.).

Monday, September 22, 2008

To begin I am still having fun & I rather like having a list to keep me centered.1. ALQS2 - no photo, so it can remain a suprise. I need to audition borders, baste, quilt, & bind it.Now I just need to quilt & bind it.2. RR (x 3 or 4) I am not sure how many more rounds we have, but I am doing the quilting on the current one.I am about 90% done with the quilting.3. RR X-ing quilt - I want to piece the top & the back & ship it off to a long armer.I have pieced the top. (I thought I would have pieced the back this past weekend - never got close to that idea...)4. Faux Log Cabin - this one should have a higher priority... I need to finish piecing the blocks & piece the top. (I would like to have those two steps done by Halloween.)I have been piecing on this - something that I probably would not have done if it was not on my list. (THANKS FINN for the impetus.)5. Hand Quilting the blue & yellow log cabinProbably 80% done on this - since I need to mail my other quilting, I set this aside.6. Piece the yellow bird quilt...I am almost ready to tryout my new foot...7. Bind the green minkyI probably should redo this, but I will probably trudge through instead...8. Bind the baby quilt after it gets quilted by the long armer... (Instead of adding it to the pile of quilts that need the binding finished.)At leat 75% done with this one!All of this should be done by Thanksgiving (November 27, 2008). No stress - still fun.Unfortunately I am at a loss for prioritizing most of the list. For example, the faux log cabin, it was supposed to be done a couple years ago... The RR-Xing I want to give to my dad as a 100% finished quilt when he comes to see the baby - so I need to get it out to the longarmer - so I need to do that back! The two doll quilts need to be mailed next month...

This is when my brain who has no concept of how long it takes to do any of those says, You can quilt the doll quilt in an evening - NOT! (But I should go back to my routine of quilting it while winding down...)

Well, now I don't have the excuse of "I want to have everything in the bag for my appointment on Friday."

Where do I start? I am trying to do one post instead of several...A bit of a weekend wrap-up.A bit of a "what's the status on that?"A bit of "junk in my mind."

I guess I will try to go chronologically.

On Friday I had the GTT. While waiting for the 3 hours to elapse, I quilted on my round robin quilt. I broke through my callus... I went to IHOP for "make me feel better" dinner - aka breakfast. I only 1 bruise out of 4 needles! YIPPEE!

On Saturday, an enabler called me to say that she saw some Alexander Henry dreidel fabric at JoAnnes. It was late & I still had not fully gotten going. (Couldn't find the shorts that the baby will tolerate - so I crawled back into bed after eating my leftover pancakes. The baby is not so much a fan of the elasticized waistband. Including the one that I am wearing today...)

That gave me the impetus to get out of the house - it was such a lovely day & I wanted to get some cheddar cheese & a treat for sew-n-tell.

So I am at Joannes & I see the fabric - I purchased it at least 2 years ago. But I also saw some star fabric (much more useful) that I would not mind purchasing. I went into sticker shock! Almost $11 at Joannes... I passed it up, but decided to look around (I am back into an I SPY kick.) I found a few things & then wandered over to Trader Joes for some cheese, cake & other food stuffs. Mission accomplished. You could almost see the big check mark above my head.

On Sunday, I went into the office for a bit... I got what I think is our last CSA share... (Same stuff different week, husband is going to look for a different CSA for next year. He is also going to verify the ending date - he thought that we got shares until October.) Then I went to sew-n-tell.I shared & passed off our most recent group project = YAY!Since we meet in the back of a quilt shop, I looked around - whole lotta bolts on the floor. I mentioned this & some of the gals mentioned that they had had a 25% off sale the previous weekend. (That should say something about their pricing if they still have a lot of bolts on the floor after a sale...)I got 3/4 of the binding finished on the baby's quilt that I shared last week. While working on it, one of the gal's asked, "Who is that for?" I replied, "You might not have noticed, but I am expecting. This is for the baby." Later she said that I have too many quilts. Pish Posh! I also shared the internet round robin that I am working on... I am still so amazed that some people get one idea of a round robin & can not fathom the idea of another way of doing them. Some of the gals were quite shocked that the quilts that we are doing are a. so small & b. will be finished when the cycle is over.

Oh & My GF said that she hopes that the gal who is quilting mine is doing as nice a job as I am doing. I am here to tell ya, coming from her that is such a compliment! (She has been quilting for a very long time! & Has no problem letting me know about my foibles.)

That reminds me, I have no concept of how long it takes to do "anything!" I sit around thinking that it takes X-hours to do Y - when in faxt it takes X+Z hours to do Y. Case in point, 9 times out of 10 I miscalculate how long it takes to get to Baltimore from where I live... I am especially bad when it comes to estimating the amount of time it takes to do anything quilty. For example, I brought 2 doll quilts to quilt to my 3 hour appointment. I got about 90% of one done... I took the baby quilt to bind to sew-n-tell, I only got 3/4 done - but I had my pre-cut I SPY charms in that bag as well, thinking that I would be able to sort out duplicates.

Oh & I have issues with quilt math. You see in addition to 2 I SPY quilts where I have a pattern to follow, I kind of want to do another (I really should finish one of those... before planning yet another.) but this "new" one is supposed to focus on 5 specific letters - I am thinking a 50x50 layout - so the squares would roughly be 10 inches, but a lot of my fabrics are pre-cut to 5 inches & 3.5 inches (For patterns that are far easier to follow.) & If the "I" image is small-ish, it would get lost in a 10 inch charm... So I am envisioning a 1, 4, 9* layout.*1 patch, 4 patch, 9-patch - all ending up the same finished size so that they can all be in 1 quilt.

I then went over to my GF's house & she took a picture of my baby bump - suprisingly, the first one that I have taken... 29 weeks 4 days.

Finally, I have to tell a cat story (or 2). On Sunday after getting my CSA, I went home to drop them off, my girl cat scampered up to say hello to her mommy - my boy barely lifted his head. When I got to the bathroom - the boy usually follows... When I take me shower, he has a towel to sit on... The girl occasionally joins in on the fun. This morning, she hopped up real quick & made herself comfy on the towel. When RB got up there he looked around as if to say, "Aren't you going to make room for me." He finally scootted onto the towel. When I finished my shower it was so apparent that she was comfy that you could see the pink of her toepads. :o) He just continued to sit & look as if to say, "This is so not fair."

This is a prime example. It is 100% flannel! My GF & I were at a local quitl show & we saw a rag quilt that only used black & whites on the front & colors on the back so that when you ragged it, you saw bits of color on the front. (My rag quilt lives on the sofa! Generally uinder a cat...)These are "Our" scraps. (I did one of these previously, but I gave that to my cousin for her baby)

This one is now in the nursery awaiting my prescious arrival.

(I tried to give it away a few times, but I LOVE the Laurel Burch cat print that is on the back...)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

While Libby & Carole baked molasses cookies yesterday, I went to Trader Joes and bought some. :o) They were exactly what I was thinking of as I read about those cookies - without the mess. (I also missed out on the freshbaked cookie smell...)

Thanks for all of the lovely comments on the Isotaupe quilt yesterday. It is a personal favorite of mine.

Today I have the 3 hour glucose tolerance test (GTT), while the stuff you have to drink was not so bad on the screening, on an empty stomach, I'm not so sure... (& I wanted one of those cookies so bad as I was leaving the house....)

On Thursday evenings, we have our child birth class - so no sewing for me yesterday, but today I hope is a completely different story since I will be at the Lab for 3 hours.

The isotaupe quilt is quilted! I had it quilted in clamshells. (That statler stitcher is a nice thing for a longarmer to have...)The binding is attached...The back is a big piece of one of those small pieces from the front. It was so hard to bite the bullet and do that, but my husband got the yardage & at a discount as compared to Pinwheels - my regular purveyor of taupes.here it is: I almost forgot, those blocks are placed randomly. (I don't use a design wall.) If I did, I would have moved some of these around a bit, but I am sure that if I got to that point, that it might not get off the design wall!& a detail shot:This will replace the Trip Around the World behind my couch as soon as the binding gets done. (The TATW has been up for quite a while.)

I was thinking recently... & I may have made this comment on a blog. (I did & now I remember which one...) In a previous life I must have been a typesetter. You see I love letters. The quilt yesterday was the Hebrew Alphabet - Aleph Bet. So it basically said, A, B, C, D, E, F, G - more to the point Aleph, Bet, Vet, Gimel, Dalet, Hey...I am also in love with the letters that are being created on this blog. She had me at "b", the first letter that she did.

Not only do I like appliqued letters & pieced letters (Still need to try my hand at free pieced letters) but I like fabric that has letters on it.

I am sure that there are prints in my stash that are only there because of the letters. I bought 2 alphabet panels - one in pink & one in blue, so that I could use the "appropriate" color for the kitten & cut up the other one for other stuff! (BTW If you see my MIL, please tell her that it really is o.k. that we do not know the sex of the baby & that she can quit asking!)

I also want to do an I Spy based on a word - using the letters & images that correspond to those letters!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

I should be saying that I "finished" one of my "Finish by Thanksgiving" projects, but alas I only got around to photographing, not to finishing the binding on this quilt for my baby. Crazy excuse, but here goes: I only have 1 hand sewing box & it is with the log cabin that I am 90% finished with quilting & the doll quilts that I want to quilt on Friday while I am waiting during the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. So I did not want to take that kit out of the bag to work on the binding...the back & detail of the quilting (The back is darker - the fabric that is the narrow inner border & binding on the front - which better represents the colors.)

Have you heard about the book on making quilts with selvages as the emphasis? Karen Griska is the Author & she has a blog. I was blog hopping - clicking on hyperlinks, etc. & I found her blog yesterday. I left a comment - she was looking for a translation on a Japanese selvage. I mentioned that I have some Japanese fabric where those color dots are not dots... She wanted to see what I was talking about, this is what I sent her:&

If I had more that 3, I would seriously think about making a small quilt with selvages. Also on regular cottons, the selvages are getting to be prettier & prettier. I noticed that while cutting setting triangles for my dad's quilt last weekend - lets just say that at least one of those lights was rather old...

As it is, I was inspired by a doll quilt on flickr & started to save nice selvages - but when I downsized to make room for the baby, those were tossed early...

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Do you flickr?How do you "search?"How often do you search?Do you have "contacts?"Do you look at their stuff first?Do you only look at their stuff?What is your current favorite flickr photo?Do you have "so many" favorites that they are unruley... (I had to search hard & deep yesterday while posting about "September is Quilt Month." A whole lotta cat quilts going on in my favorites...)

Do you use webshots instead? Why?Any other quilt photo/inspiration sources that I "need" to know about?

Michael 5000 was suprised that I found an image of his quilt... So that is why I am pondering this subject and asking the questions.

Monday, September 15, 2008

I finished piecing the RR X-ing top. You don't look too hard & I won't point out the "errors."I had quite a bit of help from my helper who is usually to "big" to be bothered. Rhapsody... RB the regular snoopervisor was sound asleep. (Head upside down & everything.)She was so involved in the helping aspect that this is what happened when I wanted to sew on that bit... No one can tell me that that is not CUTE!So that is how I spent Saturday.This is on my list of things to finish by Thanksgiving. :o)Also on my list is a gift quilt for a friend - I worked on that yesterday. YAY - I have been putting that off for FAR to long! I hope on that to get more done tonight. It is a faux log cabin - I have had the su-b cuts done forever, now I am sewing them into blocks - minus the single solid strips - I must have forgot to do those back when I was cutting for this project. Easy enough of a fix.Decision - On my to do list is to quilt 2 doll quilts. I packed up the doll quilts to take with me to the lab since I will have a 3 hour block of time in which I can sew. (No TV & I have read all of their magazines.)

I mentioned earlier that we got Acorn Squash in our CSA. I can admit it, I like squash. So does one of my favorite fabric designers. Here is her recipe. My husband did the cut in half & bake forever version - which wasn't all bad as we needed to reheat our chicken as well. Two recipes - one oven cycle.

Mr. Monkeysuit is doing Simple & Dense for quilt month... Here is my take on that subject.

A. of all of the quilts that I love & flickr & there are a ton! I like the ones that could easily be classified as Simple. Log cabins that don't care about value. The use of solids - especially white. Coin quilts. Quilts that are mostly 1 piece of fabric with simple appliques or piecing as accents.

What have I done that I think fits this theme?I think that Plain Spoken (Pattern by Ringle & Kerr) fits this theme to a "T"Another that used solids: Hop, Skip, & Jump - pattern by Denyse Schmidt. (I have quite a few of her patterns kitted up...)

I have a long way to go before this is my "look." I guess that I am working through some of my older ideas first... I need to take my hobby less seriously - hard for some people to believe...

Thanks for all the Ike related well wishes. My father fared rather well. He was in an area that was told not to evacuate, so they moved his 92 year old mother in law in with them until normalcy resumes. (one less senior for the home to deal with.) Over all they fared well, getting to the potty in the pitch dark was the hardest part from what I hear.

No news on how the dogs took too it, but with enough "chicky" I am sure they were fine.

The only damage that my father saw was to some trees & the fence. A few neighbors had some roof damage. They have gas & water - which is good. I know when we lost our electricity, I was happy to have a gas stove. No electricity - they are expecting to be out for up to 2 weeks... Now that is a long time - even without Nintendo addicted kids. (The Nintendo reference probably dates me, not that we had one... We did not even have cable & when the TV broke, we survived without that for a while too.)

CSA - peaches, apples, pears, acorn squash, tomatoes (off the top of my head...) I did not take any of the parsnips (I only use those in soup & we are not having soup weather!) or bell peppers.

Baby - don't forget there is a ticker at the bottom of my page... But on Friday I get to have the 3 hour glucose tolerance test - my sugar was high on the initial screening. So I may have gestational diabetes - which could take my birth plan & throw it out the window... Ah well, healthy baby is what I have to keep thinking about...

I'll post my weekend sewing in a few. Now I need to read what you all have been up to!

Friday, September 12, 2008

So today I will share a quilt from one of my first "classes." (I have previously stated that my first class was with Karen Kay Buckley - I was sub-novice in a class that was for "I have at least tried my hand at appliquers." & that project - long gone!)

This class was taught at a sew-n-vac shop that also sold fabric. I bought all of my fabrics at that shop for this quilt - with a good amount of help.This class was taught the old fashioned way - where you have piles of squares...I still messed this up a couple times before getting it right.

I showed this at a quilt guild quilt show, someone offerered to purchase it, but I never followed up on that. Which is probably a good think since this quilt was hung as wall art in the first condo that I "owned."

From this quilt, I made this one:using the same technique. I put these fabrics together & was going for an underwater look. I was going to applique fishies on to it - but after all of the work that went into piecing it, I trashed that idea. The fish are on the back.That border - is a single piece of fabric that I found AFTER I pieced the quilt. it is so perfect for this quilt, from a distance it looks like scraps.

The quilt hangs in my dining room.

Since this is turning into a Trip Around the World Lovefest, I made this one using the strip piecing method.I pulled the fabrics for the piecing from the colors that in in those Tokyo Tabbies. I once thought that there is too much rust - I needed 24 pieces & settled for more in that color because they were available & they "worked." It has been hanging behind my couch for some time now & has grown on me... (I am about to swap it out... But I need to pick-up the new quilt from the long armer & do the binding...)

First & foremost, thanks to all of you with the wonderful tips for my delicate situation.1. I only drink water - it is my strongest craving... I am up to a US Gallon a day... (Not sure how that works out into pints, ounces, liters, etc.)2. I eat a good bit of veg & fruits. (I have been noshing on a chopped salad that has kidney beans, chick peas, green beans, corn, cuke, onion & black olives... & just today in my lunch I have 2.5 peaches, 1 pear & 1 apple - I forgot the carrots & clelry with hummus... But I also forgot the cake.)3. I am on colace/stool softener.4. I never realized that the prenatal vitamin is probably the culprit...5. You can put those in the fridge... I never even considered that as an option as I am dealing with those when I am nowhere near a fridge. First thing, at work, & last thing - not "after breakfast" when I might have been able to remember the other bit after the milk for cereal or breakfast shake. But the concept has me intrigued so I may giv it a try... Cold sounds good...6. I don't have a tub, but I did buy a sitzbath - now to figure out how to use it...

Enough on that topic! (I wish I could just say - they are gone...)

Last night, I ironed the fabric that will be the setting triangles in the RR X-ing quilt! (On my list!) & I basted the doll quilt - also on my list!I didn't do anything else, so I did not do anything that was not on my list - even though that doll quilt made out of a border print is still on my mind... I have a few border prints that would lend themselves nicely to that application. (I don't have enough of them to border anything...)

I hope that everyone has a good day. (Would a donut for my chair give away my malady?)

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

1. I looked & looked for the Halloween swap... (Can I share my bloglines & have you cross off the ones that you read & look from there? Hopefully that would cut the list down by 1/2. The computer is running so slow that it is timing out when I try to go from blog to blog....)here it is: Halloween swap.

If you don't like "medical" stuff or the most awful pregnancy symptoms carry on & don't keep reading...

If that wasn't bad enough, I shop at CVS & that is where I buy Preparation H. I just got a frequent shopper coupon for Preparation H - YAY ME.

Now for the laugh or cry bit (Those who made it past the last bit may still need to be warned... I am not dainty.)

While attempting to use said product - I could not reach... The baby bump was in the way, the suppository was melting in my hand (I should have been wary when I had a hard time using the medicated wipe...) You can't exactly ask for help with that kind thing... I persevered - I had to otherwise I was going to go crazy from the irritation. - & was finally successful...

Mr. Monkeysuit is reading my mind. Today she is sharing vintage quilts. & Earlier today I thought, you could show that antique quilt for Quilt Month...So here goes... This Drunkard's Path Quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted by my great-grand mother.A block:Some of the quilting:part of the back so that you can see the interior quilting:The label that I made for it:My grandparents are "downsizing" and everytime you go over to their house, she is trying to give you something... In the begining, all I would ask for is "that quilt." (She wasn't ready to part with it yet - but she never took it out of the GASP Plastic bag to even look at it.) One time, I finally got it. (I keep it in a pillow case...)

I almost asked, "Who was having that Halloween swap?" But the reality hit. As in, "You have a long list of to do before Thanksgiving already." But I saw a GREAT doll quilt on flickr & it got my brain muscles churning! While I did not do anything remotely quilty yesterday, I also did not work on anything that was not on the official list! :o)Halloween Swap info.

BUT I did nearly have a complete & total melt down... I have a MAC with the complete MS Office suite, including Entourage. You may or may not know this but many things on MACs & PCs can be done with a combination of key strokes... if you accidentally click on two magic keys at the same time, you can make your computer do CRAZY stuff like delete you unread Yahoo e-mails before your very eyes leaving you to scream, "NO, STOP, What the F!" It got no better when my husband got home & said, "Did you get my e-mail?" I opened the e-mail & clicked on his message - saw enough to irritate me - he knows exactly how I feel about liscensed products - I don't like them one bit! - then I saw 5 other unread e-mails dissappear! They went to Entourage - dumb luck found them, but perseverance would have won out in the end anyway - I am stubborn! I think I fixed the problem... Kitty girl knew exactly how upset I was & came over to comfort me. AWWWWWW...

Monday, September 08, 2008

O.k. so the kitten is kicking - right now. I am so not sure how I "feel" about it. I mean I am in awe still over the fact that there is a life growing inside of me & all of that (I mean I did spend mucho dinero to get into this predicament after having tried for far too long...), but when the kicking starts, I pull up my shirt so I can "see" it happen - then nothing. Ditto if I put my hand there to fell it... I'm working on having a stubborn baby just like mama, just like papa. YAY. I can see this one playing out...

What happens when the rule breaker breaks the rules? (I am usually the rule breaker - not sure why, but...)

Why do I feel one way when people agree with me, but completely the opposite when they don't? Me the one who honestly feels that we are all entitled to our choices whether they are my choices or not - insert 99.9% of hot button topics & that is my POV - until you try to legislate your idea onto me...

Is it Fall yet? I got a lovely e-mail today with the teasing quip - the temp. is just under 60F. AHHHH

I love Fall & Winter & Spring - pretty much any weather when it is o.k. to have hot soup & to curl up into a quilt. Summer - for a red head - not so much... Heat that drives you into the AC - not so much... Heat that makes your heat seeking cats seem too hot - not so much... Lucky for them we are able to live a fairly climate controlled life.

Anyone still wondering how I got past 1,000 posts? (This is number 4 for today. Oh & in the begining of blogging, I did a lot of MEME's and other blog fluff stuff.)

I should be quilting, but I will go back to work. (I don't take a lunch perse - the baby won't let me eat that much, so I nibble throughout the day - working in between. I am at least a week ahead of my supervisor - so we are "good." When it is the other way, I'll start to worry more about my nibbling...)

I promised a cat filled quilt post so here goes.Caveat: My weekend begins on Friday afternoon when I get off work.After I baked Libby's Tomato pie & got the challah ready for the Sabbath, I opened the box that was left at my door. (I doubt that it happened in that order...) (Challah was purchased a the store - but I did bake the pie & the last of the zucchini bread was had for dessert.)

In the box was a gift for the Kitten from a lovely blogger who does not blog near enough, ahem. Thanks again.And a gift for the cats: "I know I can fit."& "I fit just fine."I have not opened the present yet...

On Saturday, I stayed home while Hanna did her thing. (Not much in our area, thankfully.)While I watched far too much cooking on TV...

RANT: I hate the way the "Big" PBS stations put on "special programming" while trying to solicit money. Therefore, I give to WHUT the university PBS Station, because they don't muddle with the programming. Seriously, I wanted to watch those cooking shows...

I occasionally get inspired - you should see my piles of recipes... But I watch them because I don't have to pay attention while quilting.

I quilted about 1/2 of the log cabin on Saturday! (I am down to most of the border & 2 blue halves.) Those stitches are not going to win me any awards, but the quilt is nearing completion.

I also need to work on some other quilty projects in the "now" time frame.

So on Sunday I pressed the backing for a doll quilt swap quilt. I also prepared the binding for the minky blanket. I unfortunately did not baste the small quilt, nor did I quilt on my round robin quilt... But I did pick up the log cabin again. :o)& I had a bit of assistance: Aren't her cat fingers too cute for words?Before I got this shot, RB was under the quilt - which was moved a lot... One time there was an "opening" and Rhapsody peeked in to see him - I thought that that was cute - because she usually just attacks the lump. She swatted him, that was not so cute. Here is my girl, quite proud of herself for running him off...

CSA - pretty much more of the same. No zucchini this week hence the spice cake. :o) I had "Birthday cake for dinner last night." When I mentioned that to the hubby, he said, "Who's birthday?" I said, "I don't know but with cake & ice cream, it is bound to be someone's birthday."

Mr. Calico Cat went to a sports bar to see "Farve & The Brett's" play football... Yes, that still is funny! They won, so it is all good. He is going to Philly for a work related meeting for a few days this week. I need to plan some good stuff to do! Maybe I can finally go see the new Indiana Jones movie, or any number of other movies that I have wanted to see... I might go out to eat Mexican/Latin American food... I would say, "I am going to quilt." But I do that already with him around.

I get to go to the Childbirth class alone. This weeks topic is labor. Might be a good one for the designated driver to be in on... Oh well, he only gets to go to this conference every other year - if he can write it up well enough to get his boss to sign off on it... Hey wait a minute using that logic - this is the first (& probably only) kitten...My "more directly related to work" symposium is also in Pennsylvania in November. Two weeks before my due date...

That must be all that is fit to type (minus all of the political stuff running around in my brain) for now.

Mr. Monkeysuit blogged about quilt books recently. So I will sorta follow suit.

Books, that I could not live without:When I started quilting I would have said the 3 books by Ursula Reikes.Not too long afterwards - the cat book(s) by Janet Kime.The triangle based books by Sara Nephew is probably still on my list.

I went through the Nickel Quilts phase (Author Pat Speth).I went through the Baltimore Album Phase - mostly Mimi Dietrich, with a healthy does of Elly "I have no idea how to spell her last name."

I really like both of the books that I have by Weeks Ringle & Bill Kerr.I am completly entranced by Denise Schmidt - but intimidated by her method; hence the enlarged patterns & bundles of fabric waiting to become quilt tops.

I have many other quilt books & fairly regularly look through many of them "again."

My last post was my 1,000th! Whoppie! How to celebrate? Do I celebrate? (So many bloggers are celebrating 100 posts... So many have not celebrated anything...) Before I cleaned/straightened (HA HA)/moved things around in the stewdio/baby's room I had something in mind. Now I would have to find it...

Well I will celebrate my award... Heck, I am celebrating that I could post it ('puter problems)... Thanks OklaCookiemaker. & as my grandmother says, "Skip the recipe, send me the cookies." She used to send out cookies & while watching FoodTV this past weekend, I saw a show with nostalgic recipes & Boy oh Boy did I get a hankering for Raisin Cookies (I have the recipe, but the "add flour until stiff" part has NEVER worked for me.) So I made a spice cake - Thanks Betty - adding water, eggs & oil was all I could muster & you knew it.

I am supposed to nominate others for this award, but I have hundreds of blogs on my bloglines... So you all can consider yourself nominated. :o)

Waxing Political (Not really, just checking to see if you are still awake. I keep that stuff off-blog or in blog comments.) It felt good to type it - but I deleted it. I don't care how you feel about Candidate A, B, or why oh why can't we have a "C." I figure that you are here for the other stuff that I ramble about. And in that spirit my next post will be a Cat covered Quilty one!

Oh & if anyone wants the raisin cookie recipe, let me know - I only ask for a batch to be mailed to me...

Friday, September 05, 2008

If you were not participating in the "fungly challenge" and an innocent commentor asked "Is that you fungly?" Would you be offended?(I'm not saying anything unless the post mentions: "This is my fungly.")Oh & a fungly is not on my list of things to finish by Thanksgiving... But I really like to see those wild combinations & to see people using their less than loved fabric! As Bonnie would quip, "I paid for it."

To begin Marlene shared her first set of blocks. Go take a look. I love that block pattern, but I don't even want to try it today.... Too many HST's!

I am working this quilt month in somewhat of a chronological order... (Not really, but in my brain it works...) I am also recycling stories/quilt photos.

So after I learned so much on my own, a lesson that I got from somewhere was to choose a focal fabric and fabrics that compliment (go with) it as a recipe for a fool proof quilt. I was hugely inspired by Marti Michell when making this quilt. (She used a chicken print in her version) it is in two of her older books (I guess they are both out of print. I got them using one of those cards in a magazine. One was on 9-patches, the other was for people who don't have time to quilt.)

This quilt was a turning point in another way - I finally learned how to buy fabric by the time I got to this quilt. Case in point: I really liked/still like Alexander Henry's Siamese cats fabric a lot only I did not realize that that meant that I need to buy a lot of it... I have regretted that ever since - but I got lucky & was super happy when Keepsake Quilting "found" a bolt & had it on their sale page. I bought about 6 yeards - I tried to buy the "rest of the bolt" but they did not sell like that over the phone & I had no idea how much came on a bolt... or I would have gotten more.So the "focus fabric" I found in a shop & I bought the rest of the bolt! (I have it in blue on cream & blue on white as well. I have not regretted any of those purchases even though I have only used this version minimally & have not touched the other two, yet.)

So you wanna see the quilt? Here it is: I call it Chag Sameach - Happy Holidays since it represents all of the major holidays not just Hanukkah.Here is a close-up of Passover.Can you see how well the green, brown, red & blue "go with" the focus fabric?

This was supposed to be a "directional" quilt, but at least one of my rows is upside down... OOPS.

The other day I looked at this & wondered how it would look with scrappy greens, browns, reds, & blues. But I am not going to replicate it. I think it is fine with a limited number of prints...

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Well it actually started at about 5:45 this morning. I packed up the blue & yellow log cabin & my hand sewing box. Yay me - I was prepared!

I just had to do the Gestational Diabetes screening which means that I had to drink "orange" bug juice & then wait an hour before getting stuck with a needle that looked an awful lot like a NAIL!

During the hour wait, I quilted... YES I did! (Now I have to go back to work - I wanna keep quilting...)

Oh these are the "utility" some are small some are big stitches - not those prize winning all of them are the exact same size stitches & straight is the goal, not necessarily the result. :o) I am going down the "middle" of the yellow logs with yellow thread & down the middle of the blue logs with blue thread. I think that I will outline the big stars - not sure though & I have a while before I get there.

Not unlike many of you... I dabbled at "quilting" before I made the quilt (quarter) that I shared yesterday. (The photo was cropped so that the wide gaps where the points should be meeting were not showing.)

I am self-taught... I barely looked at a book self taught. But I did find a guild... On my first night, they had a speaker Bonnie Lynn McCaffrey well before she started those portrait quilts. (Back in the day of kaliedoscopes.)

I bought a pattern. & I made the quilt - complete total abomination - it was paper pieced, I did not know to remove the paper... (No idea what happened to that.)

I guess I have always loved charm quilts - I started to hand piece a hexagon charm quilt. I did not know about paper inserts, but I did have an acrylic template for cutting them out... Without any lessons in cutting with a rotary cutter, I nicked myself up real good - & I did a number on the table cloth too! That project was adopted by someone who will hopefully finish it...

I found the internet & started a mystery... I did not know value from light & lighter (Like my dad's salsa, mild & milder.) So I made the quilt & if you were not on top of it, it looked like a light piece of fabric. (I used that as the back on another quilt.)

Insert: I did other stuff along the way - playing with fabric/ideas that did not become anything or were donated/trashed/etc. Somewhere in the middle I took my first "class" on applique with Karen Kay Buckley. She came to teach at my guild. I was still such a novice & knew so little about applique that I did not know how to keep your needle on the top of the project. (I had been a cross-stitcher...) That project died a miserable death... I was in way over my head...

Then I found Alex Anderson on TV. (When they kind of gave you the recipe to make the quilt that they were showing you how to make...) Luckily I ended up finding the pattern for purchase, because they gave you enough information to really mess with your mind, not to make a quilt - at least that was my perspective as a novice. (Because I got help with choosing the fabircs on this quilt...) (Sorry, I don't remember what it is called or who designed it. Might have been called "Confusion.")Here is a "block" (In quotes, because you could arrange the pieces in any manner.) I arranged them so that the brown would create a border - then I had some extras, so I made a couple focal pinwheels.

P.S. Last night, I auditioned, cut , & sewed the borders onto my quilt swap doll quilt. I also prepared the binding. I also cut the binding for the green minky. The doll quilt stuff all came out of my stash. I previously purchased the binding material for the green minky - so while I did not buy it recently, I did buy it for this project - so whether or not it is stash fabric is a bit nebulus...2 things on my list on things to "finish" before Thanksgiving in America.(I also pulled yellow scraps to send off - yay more stuff out of my stash - although you can't tell.)

Wow - what a wordy title.Explanation 1, Rosh Hashana, Jewish New Year, is at the end of the month...Explanation 2, Thanksgiving - I believe that it is celebrated earlier in Canada... (in October?)Expanation 3, The baby is due in early December, so me sewing in December does not sound like something that I can "plan on."

Therefore, I would like to finish these projects by Thanksgiving - Thursday November 27, 2009.(Please remind me if you see/hear me talking about some other project...)1. ALQS2 - no photo, so it can remain a suprise. I need to audition borders, baste, quilt, & bind it.2. RR (x 3 or 4) I am not sure how many more rounds we have, but I am doing the quilting on the current one.3. RR X-ing quilt - I want to piece the top & the back & ship it off to a long armer.4. Faux Log Cabin - this one should have a higher priority... I need to finish piecing the blocks & piece the top. (I would like to have those two steps done by Halloween.)5. Hand Quilting the blue & yellow log cabin6. Piece the yellow bird quilt...7. Bind the green minky8. Bind the baby quilt after it gets quilted by the long armer... (Instead of adding it to the pile of quilts that need the binding finished.)

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

I did not go to the Harrisburg, Pa. quilt show.I did not go to the Md. State fair.I did not bug my father, who lives in Houston, & is probably being affected by the weather. (I know that was a crappy sentence - no I do not have another father who lives somewhere else...)BTW If you have seen the guy on youtube who was praying for rain - KARMA! If you haven't sorry I don't have a link... & it was rather political in a not nice way...I did pick up my CSA - same stuff different week.I did bake 4 loaves of zucchini bread. (I may get tired of that...)I did go into work for a few hours - so that today would not be super hectic.I did go to a minor league baseball game - for a while.I did pick up provisions at a big box store that shall remain nameless.I did not trim scraps - for the very long term postage stamp quilt or for the Chinese Coins quilt.I did cut strips for the blue & yellow log cabin - twice.I did finish piecing the blue & yellow log cabin.I did baste the blue & yellow log cabin.I did get a lot of help from my big kitty helper.I did not BBQ.I did layout the RR X-ing rows & fixed an oops.I did not cut the setting triangles for the RR X-ing quilt.I did take some photographic evidence...RB the helper:Rhapsody, "You didn't want me to actually 'help' you?""I'll just wait to sit on your lap." The Blue & Yellow log cabin top. I was going to use a different fabric for the border - yellow stars instead of the light blue stars - but it looked super blotchy. I was also going to add a narrow inner border of yellow - but I like how the final blue row in the log cabin blocks make a scrappy inner border... I am using yellow for the binding. This quilt came completely out of my stash. However, this is not one of those "stash quilts" where I purchased the fabric for "X" quilt, but did not get around to piecing it until way later... I am very guilty of that. My general idea of a "stash" quilt means that I did not buy a kit or run to the store that week to get the fabrics for this quilt.Here is RB under that quilt after I basted it. (Since Tanya & Cathi have been showing the opposite scene - cat weight on top of the quilt.)& the RR X-ing quilt: The oops in the middle on the bottom has been fixed. Good thing I decided to lay this out yesterday...

I am officially going to join Finn's finish 5 by New Years. (but I am going to hopefully finish by Thanksgiving - I've got a baby who will also be finished by New Years...)Tomorrow I am going to copy Applique 'n Patch's idea & actually post a photo of how it looks today... (No they will not all be baby quilts. I don't seem to need motivation to work on those - as much.)